As part of National Children's Dental Health Month, the SLVHA board was tasked to choose one overall winner of the 42 submitted entries.

The original rules stated that there would be only one winner of the $20 gift certificate, but based on the quality of the entries, the SLVHA board of directors decided to award one contest winner and four runners-up The first-place winner was Dellice Chase of Bloomingdale Elementary School with a slogan of "Brush, Brush, Brush, or Your Teeth Will Turn To Mush."

A statement from the SLVHA board contest judges regarding the winning entry read, "In our cut and paste world, it takes more effort to create art yourself. The catchy slogan promotes good oral hygiene and the rhythm and rhyme will make it easy to remember. This dental health slogan flyer had the complete package. The original artwork, a catchy slogan, and directions were followed with regard to the layout."

According to Saranac Lake Central School District Dental Hygienist Suzanne Snizek, each student's submission was unique and special in it's own way, just like the kids. Some were informative, some were clever, some were funny, and some were insightful.

"I think the contest did help the students to think differently about dental heath. In order to complete the project, they needed to take pause and really think about what is important to them about the health of their teeth," Snizek said. "Many of the children expressed through their flyers that they understood the consequences of what would happen if they didn't take good care of their teeth. I think they understand that many dental health problems are very preventable, and it takes personal effort to achieve good oral health."

All submitted entries are available for perusal at the SLVHA Facebook page.

\The Saranac Lake Voluntary Health Association Inc. is a nonprofit organization established in 1897 and dedicated to improving the health of the people within the Saranac Lake Central School District through funding healthcare initiatives and scholarships for students in the medical, nursing, rehabilitative and allied fields of study.